Andrew Bennett reviews last season, continuing with the month of September 2008.
September 2008: "It had a sticky nil-nil all over it"
In an interview Danny Potter revealed that he could have joined the exodus from the Abbey during that tumultuous close season. "There were clubs interested in me and people were contacting my agent and offering more money than I'm getting now. But for me it's not all about the money.
"I've got a young family, I'm settled in Ipswich, and I've said many times that I've always wanted to play for Cambridge. The only issue for me this summer was the stability of the club, that's all, but once Gary Brabin came in he spoke to us all individually and he assured everyone that the club was in a good state financially, which is obviously a massive thing for anyone with a young family and a mortgage."
Tuesday 2nd September 2008: Ebbsfleet United 1-1 Cambridge United (BSP)
Scorers: Moore 52, McEvilly 45 | Att. 1,832 (away 489) | League position: 4th
United lost two more players to injury, Gleeson and Jardim, for their visit to the ramshackle Internet fantasy club, so Jones stepped in wide left and scholar Rory McAuley made his debut at right-back. Worse news, however, was the identity of the man in the middle, John Hopkins, surely the worst ref in the BSP. True to form, his incessant whistling meant the first half was a less than riveting spectacle, with four yellow cards shown in the first half an hour.
Somehow, though, the U's snatched a barely deserved lead with almost the last kick of the half, Willmott's corner bouncing across the six-yard box for McEvilly to ram home to keep up his hot scoring streak.
The hosts equalised in untidy fashion, Potter misjudging a race with Neil Barrett out to the byline, and the latter's cross into the middle was slid into the empty net by Luke Moore. United responded well with a good spell of pressure, McAuley having a goal disallowed for a marginal offside, and after Holroyd replaced an underwhelming Jones, they had a clear penalty appeal denied for a handball by Paul McCarthy.
Ebbsfleet finished the stronger, however, with Potter producing a fine save in the last minute to foil Michael Gash, Tonkin clearing Barrett's rebound shot off the line. And after booking eight players in a game that was competitive but never dirty, Hopkins finally got to brandish red when he dismissed McAuley for a mistimed challenge on Sasha Opinel.
All in all it was a good, hard-earned point, as Brabin confirmed: "Overall I can't complain." Phil Bolland had his say on the ref: "The number of cautions out there was embarrassing. You could tell what the official's performance was going to be from the beginning of the game and I hear he averages eight bookings a game so he's done well to increase his average tonight. The early bookings laid down the rule that you couldn't touch anyone and that ruined the game."
News from the front line: Danny Brown, a newcomer to the bench at Ebbsfleet, was given the all clear to return to competitive matchplay, while Parkinson began his accelerated rehabilitation programme. Pitt was on the next stage of his rehab, Gleeson would be out for two to three weeks with a medial collateral knee ligament injury, and Convery was still some way from full fitness.
On the Thursday, Phil Law left the club with immediate effect, with Terry Baker taking over as acting chairman and Norman Gautrey asked to continue for the foreseeable future. A statement on the official website read: "Law is known to have been unhappy that people close to the club, to whom privileged access is granted, often see fit to abuse/badmouth Club staff and Board members on the Club's website. As a direct result of this behaviour, he has decided to leave the Club and the Board is currently considering temporarily suspending the message board whilst the personal abuse of individuals continues."
Craig Bussens joined AFC Sudbury until the New Year to gain first team experience.
Saturday 6th September 2008: Cambridge United 2-0 Wrexham (BSP)
Scorers: Beesley 28,64 | Att. 3,076 (away 261) | League position: 2nd
With so many players injured, suspended or barely fit, Brabin went for broke in his next home game and changed the formation for the first time to 4-3-3, with Holroyd joining Beesley and McEvilly up front, Convery and Brown accompanying Carden in midfield, and Challinor stationed at right-back. The thinness of the squad was demonstrated by the presence of three wingers on the bench.
The new system seemed to suit the players, and only the post stopped McEvilly from an opening goal on 9, but after some excellent pinpoint passing, United took the lead when Holroyd flicked Convery's corner on to the far post where Beesley rammed home. Lee Mac gave his former club's supporters an, er, friendly salute.
The visitors put in their entry for worst free-kick of the season when Kearney and Baynes stood enigmatically over the ball 35 yards out, then one nutmegged the other to present the ball to Convery. Top-notch comedy.
United remained firmly in control, and they doubled their lead when all three strikers combined, McEvilly crossing, Holroyd blasting against the bar, and Beesley nodding home the rebound. It was such a perfect team performance that the starting XI saw out the full ninety minutes to fully vindicate Brabin's radical team changes.
The manager was thrilled: "...I'm absolutely made up for Mark Beesley because I think he's deserved it... I'm delighted with the whole performance." Brown chipped in: "It was tiring out there but it was good to be back and I had no reaction to the injury - other than being knackered!"
Danny Crow signed on a free transfer from Peterborough, awarded a contract until May 2010. He had been so out of favour at London Road that he had been training with the youth team, so was lacking match fitness, but he was raring to go: "I've got a lot of energy and I make things happen, I can hold the ball, link with people, get behind and get shots off." Carden was described as a 'good mate,' while Brabin enthused, "He's got fire in his belly and he's looking forward to the challenge here."
Saturday 13th September 2008: Cambridge United 0-1 Torquay United (BSP)
Scorer: Carlisle 90 | Att. 4,041 (away 164) | League position: 5th
The BSP table had a peculiar look about it bordering on the surreal, with a top three of Crawley, Salisbury and Kettering, and Torquay languishing in 18th with eight points from eight games; Gulls boss Paul Buckle was already facing calls for his head from what Grays chairman/manager Micky Woodward called "the morons on the website."
Brabin unsurprisingly named an unchanged side, with Crow and a returning Farrell on the bench, but although they got off to a decent start, Torquay played with only one man up front and flooded the midfield to outnumber their hosts. Beesley was forced to withdraw just after the half hour, to be replaced by Crow, and neither side looked much like making a breakthrough between huffing and puffing.
United started the second half well, with Holroyd and McEvilly both missing good chances, but with no width they tried in vain to bulldoze everything through the crowded middle, and despite their apparent lack of a Plan B, Brabin stuck stubbornly to the formation which was foundering on Torquay's stout, well-organised resistance. And they paid the ultimate price in added time when Wayne Carlisle broke clear and curled a superb twenty-yarder past Potter for a smash-and-grab winner.
The boss was circumspect about his team's second home defeat: "This week I think they've worked hard but probably not as mentally hard as last week and it had a sticky nil-nil all over it... When you see Torquay coming here and getting everyone behind the ball and trying to catch us on the break it shows you the reputation we've built, but we've got to deal with that and be better than that." He thought Crow would need another two weeks' training to be fully fit.
Buckle revealed, "We very rarely change our shape but today, in respect to Cambridge, we changed things to 4-4-1-1 so that when we didn't have the ball we could sit on Paul Carden."
It was revealed that Beesley had twisted his knee and would be out for at least two weeks. On a more positive note, it had been the one thousandth game on duty for veteran head steward Alf Walker, who was awarded a nice decanter.
Saturday 20th September 2008: Mansfield Town 1-1 Cambridge United (BSP)
Scorers: O'Hare 51, Brown 33 | Att. 3,171 (away 526) | League position: 6th
For the visit to newly relegated Mansfield, United reverted to 4-4-2, leaving out Convery and introducing Gleeson and Jardim, moving Challinor to midfield behind a front two of McEvilly and Holroyd. They were protecting an unbeaten away record against hosts who could boast a 100% home record in a ground whose away turnstiles still sported 'ITV Sport Channel' stickers. We'll never make those mistakes again, right? Their heavy-handed stewards were, sadly, equally old fashioned.
Although Challinor was nominally the man to play wide right, he spent most of his time drifting inside to leave large gaps down that side for the U's, and this uncertainty led to a rather disjointed start for the visitors. But somewhat against the run of play, they took the lead when Tonkin's long throw found Bolland, his header was half-cleared by our old chum Jason Lee, and Danny Brown lashed a superb first-time volley into the far corner.
McEvilly was not in the best of health, doubling up and chundering all over the pitch on halfway, but he and his team soldiered on stoutly to a half-time lead. Early in part two, however, the ref allowed his assistant to overrule him and awarded a free-kick which Michael Blackwood floated over everyone to the back stick where Alan O'Hare rose to head home the equaliser.
The rest of the match was a tough scrap and United went for the win by reverting to 4-3-3 for the last fifteen minutes with the introduction of Crow, but to no avail, and honour was satisfied on both sides. United were proving hard to beat, but one win in six was not championship form. How full is your glass, Gary?
"They had a 20-minute period when we allowed them back in the game, and when it came to their goal the referee and the linesman didn't know whether to stick or twist with the decision... It was a cracking goal and I was made up for Danny because he's worked really hard to get himself fit." Danny himself opined perceptively, "You can see the transition from 'total football' to a happy medium you need in this league, and once we get there we will be all right."
With doubts over McEvilly and Holroyd's fitness, and Beesley still out, United needed some help in the striking department, but Brabin did not want too much pressure on the other Danny, Crow: "Danny's been in training every single day since he signed. We've given him extra training and he's chomping at the bit, but I still think it's a bit too soon."
Tuesday 23rd September 2008: Oxford United 3-1 Cambridge United (BSP)
Scorers: Guy 4, Murray 71, Haldane 90, Jardim 56 | Att. 4,170 (away 311) | League position: 8th
United's second televised match of the season took them to another pre-season favourite who had made a poor start, lying just above the relegation zone. They stuck to 4-4-2, but with Tonkin absent ill and Holroyd on the bench due to a hamstring problem, Danny Brown filled in at left-back and Robbie Willmott was drafted in wide right with Crow partnering McEvilly up front.
Willmott was felled by a ghastly high 'tackle' from Joe Burnell inside twelve seconds, and surely the Oxford man would have seen red rather than yellow at any other time in the game. And the U's were stunned by an early goal from former loanee Jamie Guy, left unchallenged to drive home from twelve yards.
The hosts were buoyed by their lead while the visitors looked sluggish, out of sorts and at times downright sloppy. Phil Trainer blasted against the bar on 33 and Adam Murray missed a sitter ten minutes later, but United almost conjured an undeserved equaliser on the stroke of half-time, fine work by Jardim down the left culminating in a low cross to an unmarked Crow who somehow managed to scoop the ball over the bar from ten feet out. Oh dear.
They could only improve in the second half, and they gave as good as they got in the early stages after a few well-chosen words from Our Gary. Jardim was denied a clear penalty early on, but soon had his side level when keeper Billy Turley fumbled a Willmott corner under pressure from Bolland and the diminutive Dutchman angled a low drive through the bodies and into the net.
Both sides enjoyed spells of pressure thereafter, but it was the hosts who took the lead when Murray lashed a shot against the bar but kept running to knock the rebound past Potter. Holroyd and Convery were introduced as Brabin boldly went to 4-3-3, but it did not work and deep into added time Oxford broke away, Lewis Haldane beat Gleeson and thrashed home for number three.
Brabin's verdict was "I think I've got a great bunch of players here, a team that should be pushing for promotion from this league, but I want us to wake up and push on because I'm not happy with that today."
Guy was sorry for overdoing the celebrations after his goal: "I wouldn't normally have celebrated a goal against Cambridge but I wanted to go to the gaffer because he has been under immense pressure and he's been really good to me in my time here in Oxford. So I'd like to apologise to the Cambridge fans for that... I still love the club; I watch out for the results and I even went to Wembley in May."
Sunday 28th September 2008: Cambridge United 1-0 Grays Athletic (BSP)
Scorer: McEvilly 90 (pen) | Att. 2,971 (away 103) | League position: 5th
United's next game was on the Sabbath due to Grays having enjoyed Setanta's attentions on the Thursday, so the Amber Army had a day off on Saturday to enjoy the surreal spectacle of Ian Ashbee captaining a side playing in black and amber to a win at Arsenal.
With Tonkin and Beesley still out and McEvilly and Willmott dropped, the U's fielded yet another new front pairing in Holroyd and Crow, Convery starting wide left with Jardim switching to the opposite flank. Grays' TV defeat at Stevenage had been their fifth defeat in five away games, surely United's perfect chance to improve their stuttering run of one win in seven.
Crow was denied his first U's goal by a fine save from David Button on 19, and a mixture of stout defending by Grays and shooting profligacy from the hosts saw the game drift to the interval goalless.
Button continued to defy the U's in part two with acrobatic stops from Crow and Brown, and on 65 we witnessed the rare sight of a substitute ref when crocked starter Smedley was replaced by fourth official Graham Bielby.
United continued to probe fruitlessly and five added minutes were indicated, mainly due to the stoppage involving the change of referees. And irony of ironies, in the last of those minutes, Mr Bielby awarded the U's a penalty for an elbow on Hatswell. Sub McEvilly stepped up to blast confidently home, and the points were secured. United had just about deserved it, having enjoyed better possession and certainly forcing the better chances and saves from the keeper, but Grays had been spirited and difficult opponents.
Brabin mused, "There are a few things I'm pleased about, but the substitution of the referee and the clean sheet finally changed our fortunes."
Andrew Bennett
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